Data Initiative News and Updates

The Office of Federal Procurement Policy is modernizing the Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C). Beginning on Feb. 1, 2023, the new framework will transform how contracting professionals are managed and trained to support the federal procurement mission.

The President’s Management Agenda (PMA), calls on agencies to create a diverse and resilient Federal marketplace. At a time when applications to start new small businesses in America are at an all-time high, it is imperative that the Federal marketplace leverage this small business growth in supply chains that support agency missions, reverse the significant decline of small business participation in the Federal supplier base over the last decade, and increase the share of Federal contract dollars awarded to small disadvantaged businesses to 15 percent by 2025, as called for by the President.

Building on OMB Memorandum M-22-03 released in 2021, the memorandum Creating a More Diverse and Resilient Federal Marketplace through Increased Participation of New and Recent Entrants  (M-23-11) establishes a common definition of “new entrant” for Federal acquisition, so agencies can baseline, track, and benchmark their progress in bringing entities into the Federal marketplace, as well as a common definition of “recent entrant,” so agencies can baseline, track, and benchmark how well they retain new entrants. This memorandum also provides guidance to agencies for using two newly developed tools: a supplier base dashboard to evaluate progress in achieving diversity and resilience in each agency’s supplier base, as well as an internal government procurement equity tool to help agencies identify entities that may be interested in participating in agency procurement competitions.

In Executive Order 13985 Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities through the Federal Government, the President directs agencies to make Federal contracting and procurement opportunities more readily available to all eligible vendors and to remove barriers faced by underserved individuals and communities. The federal acquisition community is focused on developing tools to support the implementation of this Executive Order.

The Hi-Definition Intelligent Acquisition Data Environment (Hi-Def) is a coordinated approach to accessing, using, and managing acquisition data and innovative tools for the workforce. The goal of the Hi-Def initiative is to enhance the efficiency of the entire acquisition process from budget and acquisition planning to contract closeout - and all phases in between - by providing users with the right data and information at the point of need without duplicating data, tools, or effort.

As part of the President’s Management Agenda, agencies are completing an inventory of emerging technology projects and tools that support acquisition. The Federal Integrated Business Framework (FIBF)  is a model that enables the Federal government to better coordinate and document common business needs across agencies and focus on outcomes, data, processes and performance. It is the essential first step towards standards that will drive economies of scale and leverage the government’s buying power.